


Crash

by BookSurgeon



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 21:39:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13773123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookSurgeon/pseuds/BookSurgeon
Summary: Dr. Cole Hartford is a small town ER doc, on yet another slow shift, until his life is instantly thrown into disarray. Something, or someone, landed quite literally on the hospital's doorstep, and it's up to him to deal with the consequences. Follow our good doctor as he becomes the shining beacon of Humanity.





	1. Slow Night

A/N:  
Hello everyone! BookSurgeon here! Just a few quick notes: There are not going to be any initial appearances from canon characters! They will all be OCs at least for the first few chapters. The main character that I am writing as is a character based somewhat off myself. Finally, please Fave, Follow, and Review!  
End AN

It was another slow night, as usual. I sat at my desk in the center of the emergency department, surrounded by a square of long desks covered in monitors and paperwork. The nurses at those desks were trying to keep themselves busy while we waited for results for the only patient of my shift so far. This tends to happen late at night working at a somewhat rural hospital, you don’t get too many patients without a car wreck or some other trauma. Already hours into my shift as attending physician, I take my time with my late-night dinner: cold pizza. Again.  
I really should have taken that job in the city, even though the pay wasn’t as good. Damn it… I mused as I took another bite of my five-star meal. Just as the thought of writing up my resignation enters my mind, the ambulance phone starts ringing, its loud beeping making me quite literally jump for joy. The charge nurse, Angie, beats me to the line and picks it up, shooting me a victorious grin as I wait for her to get the details of the call.  
As she hangs up the receiver she calls out, “Alright everyone, hunting accident coming in! 34-year-old male, single gsw to the shoulder. They’re right around the corner, get ready!” At these words my team springs into action.  
“Prep the Trauma Bay Diane!” I say, letting all the nurses hear me as they start putting on their own sterile gowns and prepping the room.  
“On it Dr. Hartford!” Diane tells me before grabbing the trauma cart from the hallway. Taking a gown for myself from the dispenser, I get ready for the ambulance to arrive, finally putting on a pair of gloves as the flashing lights get closer to the ramp.  
The paramedics opened the doors, rolling our new patient into my department. “Hey Doc, Charlie Gaines, 34-year-old, hunting rifle to the left shoulder. Slightly hypotensive, heart rate 143, sats at 94%. We applied a pressure bandage in the field and hung a liter saline to try and help the hypotension. No allergies, no immediate family we could find.”  
“Thanks Rick, I’ve got him” I reply, taking in the information as we wheel the man into the trauma bay. “Let’s get him onto the bed, people. Ready… lift!” On my word we moved the patient over to the trauma gurney, nurses instantly on him hooking up our own monitors and cutting off his shirt to get a better view. “Let’s start him on a unit of O neg, get the pressure back up.”  
Seeing as how the paramedics brought him in unconscious, it makes my job even easier since the man instantly becomes more cooperative for us. “Angie, let’s get a chest X-Ray, I need to see if that round is still in his shoulder!” She lowers the overhead x-ray machine and positions it just right. Once my staff and I are out of the room, we take the image, the results showing up instantly on one of our monitors in the bay.  
“Alright people, looks like that bullet’s still hanging around. I’m going in to take it out, and then we can assess and see if he needs surgery. Forceps please…” Holding out my hand, I feel the end of the forceps and take it from the nurse, angling the lights to get a view inside the wound. Spotting the large bullet, I make a move with my forceps, taking the end and gently removing it. “Shit, hemostat! The bullet nicked an artery, he needs to get to the OR.” Taking the hemostat, one of the nurses applying suction, I try and find the bleed. After a few precious seconds pass, I get a clear view finally and clamp the artery, stemming the flow of blood for now.  
“Finally, he’s stable, get him upstairs!” I say to no one in particular, as a pair of techs make their way in to roll him to the OR. Letting out a breath I didn’t even notice I was holding, I turn to my team. “Nice work everybody. It wasn’t too life threatening but that bleed had me worried there!” I chuckle, all of us heading back to our desks after shedding the sterile garb.  
Just as I’m about to settle in and finish my dinner, though, A loud whooshing hits my ears, and it’s getting ever louder. “What’s that sound, guys?” The nurses all look up, trying to figure it out, but our questions are soon answered as a loud Crash! is made, followed by the straining sound of bending metal. I jump out of my seat and rush to the ambulance doors, looking through the windows into the dark to find a long, pointed… thing… illuminated by small fires in the grass around it. My team and I rush outside, the nurses in the rear bringing a gurney and some supplies, since at first it seemed to us as some sort of plane crash. As we all got closer, though, we found out we were wrong. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a plane, or any craft I had seen before. “Space junk?” One of the techs guessed.  
“Looks like a rocket…” “Is this the government?” “Little green men might be in there!” Some around me were shocked, trying to find out what it was, or even cracking a nervous joke as I made my way over to what looked like glass, and possibly a cockpit. As I crouched down in front of the dark glass, a clawed, three-fingered hand smacked its palm against the inside, making me shout and scramble back before it falls back into the darkness. “My god there’s someone in there, and it’s not human!” With gasps and a few scared shouts, the nurses and techs gather behind me as I stand back up. “Uh… someone, get the fire extinguisher!”  
After I have the heavy red cylinder in hand, I raise it high and bring it down on the glass cockpit. “What are you doing Cole? That thing might want to kill us!” Angie says to me, concerned. Seeing a small crack form, I turn to her before striking again. “Or, they might just need help! In any case, it looked to me like it passed out in there, so a: we have a responsibility to help it and b: it won’t be able to hurt us. Just stand back…” I take the extinguisher to the glass again, widening the crack, and after a few good hits, the glass cracks around enough for me to break it out, revealing a figure clouded in smoke and what looked like soot from some sort of fire.  
“Help me out here!” I say, starting to drag it from its pointed craft. A tech brings over the bed, and after rolling the figure onto its back, the group of nurses and I use all our strength to lift the thing onto our gurney. “Let’s get it inside.”  
While we’re moving back into the ER, I get a closer look at the ‘pilot’. It seems to have some sort of helmet on, with an almost T-shaped visor in the center and a pointed end on the back of it. Its uniform, or armor, had a very high collar, or cowl around it, and tapered to a pretty thin waist. Everything was a dark blue and black from the fire. As we made it into one of our exam rooms, I came up with a plan.  
“Alright everyone. I figure we might only hurt it more if we try to treat it, so let’s start by trying to get this helmet off, shall we?” I get a few hesitant nods as I run my fingers along the edge, looking for a latch or seal of some sort. After a short while searching, I find a release of some sort, and with no other option I press it, a click and hiss following as the helmet separates from some type of body suit. I take the helm gently, and do my best to slide it off carefully. What I reveal makes everyone’s jaws drop, as we look at the face of mankind’s first extra-terrestrial.  
The face we can see looks very rigid, almost plate-like. The color of the plates is a grey-white, a very exotic looking color, but beautiful in a way. Through a somewhat loosely hanging mouth, I notice a set of sharp, pointed fangs for teeth, and two thin mandible-like structures on the side of the jaw. A short set of pointy ‘scales’ on the creature’s head extend just over the top and slightly back. Lastly, I see deep purple markings on its seemingly feminine face, going across the plated brow and down the center of the very flat nose.  
Out of nowhere, as my team looks over the seemingly dead alien, its eyes flash open, as wide as can be, irises a cold, icy blue looking around the room as the ‘mandibles’ flare wide, mouth open as it takes in a quick, raspy breath. As its breath returns to normal, its eyes drift shut again, as it slips into what I can only guess is exhausted unconsciousness.

A/N:  
I will update as frequently as possible, looking forward to hearing from you all.


	2. Introductions

A/N: I’ll be working on the next few chapters and will hopefully get one out every week at most, we’ll have to see. Everyone: feel free to review and say you like it or even leave criticism, it helps make the story better in the long run! Well that’s it for now, enjoy Ch 2!  
End A/N

“What the hell is that thing!?” George, the hospital security guard, screams out as he turns the corner into the treatment room. I’m simply too stunned to answer. While nurses and the guard speculate behind me, I try my best to examine the creature like I would anyone else. The best I could do was tell that it was breathing steadily, and that it had a heartbeat. I decided that it would be best to simply wait until it was awake, and see if there was any chance we could communicate.  
As I turned back to talk our situation over with my team, I noticed George a bright shade of red, breathing heavily like he was hyperventilating. “Jesus George you’re a security guard, man. Calm down, I don’t want you to pass out.” He mumbled something as he went to find a chair, leaving me with my team at the door of the alien’s room. “I’m at a loss here everybody, what do we do?”  
“We need to kill it before it kills us!” Angie suggests.  
“You’ve got to be kidding, right? Why would we kill it? It’s either too hurt to do anything or just doesn’t care. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I say let’s keep an eye on it, see what happens. Anyone disagree?” Some looked down to the floor, not willing to disagree, others shook their heads, ok with what I had offered. “Alright then. If it makes everyone feel better, we’ll put it in soft restraints for now, just in case.” With a couple satisfied nods from the nurses I turned back to the bed, moving in and setting up the set of cuffs.  
As I put the restraints on my newest patient, I took a moment to look it over again. Aside from the ‘paint’ on its face, its off-white plated skin seemed very smooth, seeming to me like a sign of being younger, or just a characteristic of its kind. I also saw a darker grey ‘skin’ beneath the plates that surrounded the eye and made the eyelid, and thinner, darker plates on the back of its head. I couldn’t help but notice that despite the gloves, its two-fingered hands looked like they could do some serious damage.  
Remind me not to get on this thing’s bad side… I thought as I tightened the last of the cuffs down. As I was turning to head back to my desk, I heard a slight, two-toned groan coming from the alien, and I whipped around to find it stirring in the bed, those mandible structures fluttering as its eyes opened barely a crack. As what seemed to be grogginess wore off, its eyes widened in shock before it tried to move from the bed, realizing it was held down and panicking. I think it was trying to speak, as I heard some clicking and growling mirrored by a higher pitched, resonant sound in the background. A two-toned voice? I was amazed, and I found my jaw had dropped, quickly snapping myself out of my trance and figuring out a way to go about this. All I managed to do, however, was jump up and leave the bedside as quickly as I could.  
I went back to my small desk, giving the cluttered paperwork a shove and rested my elbows on the hardwood, my head in my hands as a headache began creeping its way through my temples. Here I was, the first human to ever come in contact with an honest to god alien, and I was at a loss. I racked my mind for any semblance of an idea, whether to call the White House and make it their problem or keep it here for observation.  
I kept at my inner struggle for hours, only getting up to check on my other, human patient, still lying unconscious in another treatment room. Normally if I was stumped on anything, I would ask for advice from people that I knew had the same issue before, but this was completely different. No one on Earth had ever dealt with something of this magnitude before. Somehow, though, despite all the signals warning me of danger, I had a feeling that there was nothing wrong with this creature. Perhaps it was all of the sci-fi games and movies as a kid, working with aliens or watching them in a team with humans made me want to be a part of that environment, saving lives on some ship in deep space, with a wide range of crew besides me.  
After just a few more minutes of quiet thought, I knew what I had to do. Screw it I told myself, standing up and straightening out my tailored white coat, most likely just to calm my nerves as I took the first few steps towards the creature’s room. Everything around me seemed to slow down. My steps coming to a snail’s pace, the sound of the lone heart monitor slowly losing its tempo. I wondered as slow, careful step after step clicked against the tile floor if I made the wrong choice, and if I should turn back before it was too late. I ignored my protests, though, and kept walking, eventually making it to the doorway. The alien saw me standing there, turning its head to stare me down, a raised brow… plate showed more confusion than any intent to hurt me. So, with one last set of steps forward, I went ahead with first contact.  
Putting my hands up in front of me, to seem less threatening, I spoke calmly (albeit slightly shakily), “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m trying to help you.” Seeing the creature tilt its head in confusion, but somewhat relax, I could tell I at least helped it realize I’m not going to hurt it. I quickly came up with another idea, with hope it would work. Pointing to myself, I spoke slowly. “Cole” Repeating it again, with even more clarity, “Cooollleee”. I pointed at it, raising an eyebrow, hoping it would get my message.  
Pointing its thumb as best as it can at itself I hear it ‘speak’ again, this time more intelligible to me. “Visia. Visia.” Well at least I know its name… that’s a start. Suddenly, with a flick of its fingers, a bright orange glove appeared over her left arm, with a circular dial that she spun with her fingers.  
“What the hell is that? I know you can’t understand me but you’re scaring the shit out of me!” I started backing away from the bed, trying to escape whatever it had in store for me, but I noticed the alien continue its work, before another short burst of that squawking language. I had it at that point. Count me out. I didn’t want to be in the blast radius when that holographic wrist watch did its worst, so for the second time that day I bolted back to my desk, a single bead of sweat from my rush of adrenaline rolling down my forehead.  
I almost just got zapped! Gah! I tried taking seep breaths to calm myself down, to no avail as my mind flooded with what-ifs about my failed attempt at talking to the thing. Sure, we exchanged what seemed to be its name with mine, but for all I know that could have been an alien death threat or curse! I’m not normally someone so shy or awkward to new situations, but this was getting to be too much for me.  
Another hour ticked by, another internal battle, but yet again I felt one side of me pulling towards the fact that it could have been a fluke, just a harmless alien smartphone for all I know. So, I figured I’d give the thing the benefit of the doubt and try my hand at now second contact.  
I walked the long walk yet again, the same instincts telling me not to, and my subconscious pushing me onwards. The second time that day, I found myself at the door of the visitor from the stars, her gaze meeting mine again, before it made another sound. Wait, was that a chuckle? Is it laughing at me? I couldn’t shake the feeling that this alien was laughing at me, probably for high tailing it out of its room only an hour ago. The orange ‘watch’ appeared again, and it went back to work on the dial, and I subconsciously took a step back, but this time with its free hand the alien gestured to the side of the bed, almost an invitation to stand near it. For whatever reason, I understood that it wasn’t trying to hurt me, so I walked back up to the bedside, taking off my long white coat before sitting next to it. “Alright, you seem to have gotten me to stay. I just wish I knew that the heck you’re up to there.”  
Its mandibles seemed to simply flutter once at my little monologue, intent on working with the dial, before I went on. “I mean, you can’t blame me, man. I was having a slow night, nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, sure I wanted to quit, but don’t you think this much excitement’s a little bit much? I just don’t know what to do, man.” I let the days problems flow out to what seemed to me like a captive audience, before it made its noises again.  
At first it was simply squawking, but with a few more spins and clicks of that glove it started morphing into something… familiar. And then all of a sudden, clear as day, it spoke. “Well, you can stop calling me ‘man’, I’m a female you idiot!” she clarified, with a chuckle as her mandibles spread wide. Needless no say, I was shocked. One minute all of this two-toned clicking, the next plain English! I was amazed. All I could do was stare wide-eyed jaw down to the floor as she laughed at my expression. “Yes, I can speak, my Omni-Tool has an adaptive translator. Now come on and get me out of these horrible cuffs, I’d like to be able to move a little!”  
“O-ok… um… y-yeah I can d-do that…” I squeaked out as I stepped up and quickly undid her restraints. She quickly grabbed her wrist, massaging it some before sitting up on the edge of the bed, looking over to me.  
“I appreciate it. And I’d say that a thank you is in order for you pulling me out of that wreck, by the way. I don’t know what happened, one minute my scout ship is fine, and the next I lose power and plummet to this rock.” She looked down at her claw-like feet before looking back up at me. “So, what are you exactly? It was my job to find out more about your species anyway, might as well get it straight from the source since my original plan fell apart quite literally… Plus, all we really have on you is a database of your languages we pulled from your network, hence how I could get my translator working so quickly. Not hard by the way, you all should work on your security.”  
I registered the humor, and a part of me figured that her humor was a lot like my own, but I was just too shocked to do more than give simple answers. Getting back my composure and able to clearly talk, I answered, “Well, we call ourselves… Humans. Details aside… we’re mammals… uh… are very culturally and community based… and are somewhat intelligent… but we haven’t been able to crack much of space travel yet…” I held a hand up to the back of my neck, rubbing it nervously. I was still cautious of our newcomer. “I think that… well… after the scares you gave me… I should at least be able to ask what you are, too.” I reasoned.  
“Hmph, I guess you can, Mr. Entitled. I’m a Turian, we’re somewhat avian and reptilian, based on a military hierarchy and from a planet with very high radiation levels, hence the plates.” She gestured to her face at that. “So, what’s your full name, C… Cole?” Damn she was confident, must have been trained for a long time or she was very cocky, maybe both.  
“Don’t worry you pronounced it right. And it’s Cole Hartford. Doctor Hartford, really if we get technical. W-what’s yours?” I say somewhat meekly.  
“Visia Caltion. Lieutenant, really, if we get technical” She answered, mocking me slightly with one of her wide-mandible grins. “Now something’s bugging me, Doctor. What in the name of the spirits is that stuff on your head?”  
“What, my hair?” I pointed to it, and after she gave a nod I explained. “Hair is almost like a long string of cells, it helps to keep us warm, but nowadays it’s more of a decorative thing. It can be different colors, too. Mine’s blonde, or a yellowish color, but it can be any number of colors. What’s the deal with the paint? It’s interesting and all, but I don’t get why you’d need it.”  
“It’s not just paint, it’s my clan marking. It’s almost like a showing of who my family is, what I’m a part of, my social status. It’s very important to Turians.” She did one of her smiles, closing her eyes as if looking into a past memory before looking me in the eye, “I don’t suppose you’d mind helping me get my supplies from my ship, would you?”  
“I-I guess, it’s not busy here otherwise. Just be prepared, you might get some odd looks from my coworkers… I think most of them are more scared of you than I am…” I say nervously, still managing to smirk, though, as she hops off the bed, strolling almost casually out the door and into the ER hallway. I notice more than a few sideways glances from my staff before we make it outside the ambulance bay where her ship still rests. “You’re just lucky we’re in the middle of nowhere, otherwise you might be in the hands of the government or CIA, and by then you’d be more than screwed. Hell… I even thought about handing you over. Shit… don’t kill me for saying that please…”  
“Well, just don’t get on my bad side, and I pretty much guarantee I won’t...” She replied, grinning again before turning, intent of scavenging through the remnants of her ship. Taking a few bags from her as she hands them out, she finally pulls out a long, almost oval shape from the wreck before clipping it on the back of her armor. “My rifle, just in case” At the mention of a rifle I take a couple steps backwards. She steps out into the cool night again. “That should be everything I need for now. As much food as I have, spare clothes, other necessities.”  
“We do have food you know, that wouldn’t be a prob…” I started to say before I was harshly cut off.  
“Yes, it would, if you don’t want me dead I suggest I eat my own food. I’m Dextro-Amino acid based, your food would make me go into anaphylactic shock.” She gave me a calm, icy stare, before smiling again, “So I’ll be keeping all of this…” She picks up her duffels worth of food and moves back into the hospital, me following a few steps behind, as a precaution. I swear she’s almost bipolar I thought.  
“Well we have your food figured out for at least a while… but I can’t have you staying in the hospital for as long you’ll be here. I don’t know where else you could really go but give me a day or two to find out if I actually trust you and maybe… maybe you could stay with me. That way you wouldn’t get caught until someone comes to get you” I rub my chin thoughtfully, thinking through our situation as she drops her belongings on the bed.  
“Oh, I pwomise mister!” Her tone that of a child as she jokes with me again before turning serious, “But, in all honesty, I’d really appreciate the help. And, if it makes you feel better someone’s apt to notice I stopped reporting in, so it wouldn’t be long before I get picked up anyway.” She sits in the other chair in the room, a little bit uncomfortably given her armor, but she makes it work nonetheless.  
“Alright then. I’m off shift officially for the night, but I really can’t just leave you here alone with unfamiliar people. Plus, the doc coming in after me shouldn’t mind you being here. She’s more of a Sci-Fi nut than I am.” She nods, grabbing her bags again and setting them off to the side of the room. I have her stay in the room, while quickly meeting with my nurses, “If anyone tells someone about this, I swear I will ruin their career. I don’t want to do that to you guys, you’re basically family, but God help me I will” With that last ‘threat’, I turn and walk into Visia’s room, helping her get her room set up and less cluttered with medical equipment. After some tricky logistics getting all of the different monitors and pumps into a storage room, I take a seat next to the bed while she settles in for some rest.

A/N: Hello again! R&R and can’t wait to hear from you all!


	3. Fresh Start

Case Notes: Hello again my outstanding readers!   
Feel free to let me know again in a review what you think!   
Also, please all Fav, Follow and share with your fellow FanFic readers, I hope to spread my work around the site! Thanks!  
Close Case Notes

The rest of the evening was dominated by silence, as Visia slept I was waging an inner battle with myself over my rash decision to let her – AN ALIEN – stay in my hospital, let alone possibly my house. I knew that it was at first the shock of the situation that kept me calm, but the white noise of the hospital let me dive inside me head some to figure out what in the hell I was doing.  
I have to turn her in to someone, I might get put in jail or worse for this! One part of me argued, whereas another threw in: She’s a random alien creature that looks like she could tear me apart in an instant, and I’m considering taking her home. What if she just ends up killing me in my sleep? I glance over at her, only for a second, but it was enough to make me freak out even more as I saw her sleeping form. Shit… she knows I’m scared… I’m done for, for sure. I should have called the friggin CIA.  
Visia POV  
It may have looked like I was asleep to anyone that glanced at me, but the events of the day kept me from fully resting. I never would have imagined I would find myself crashed on the Human planet. I assumed everything would have gone according to plan, but yet here I am, lying in a human hospital bed, with little idea when exactly I could go back to my own space, and to top it off I was being watched by a member of the newly-found species! To be honest I would have expected to be greeted with the planet’s military, scientists prying open my plates and killing me to learn about my kind.  
But no. Where do I end up? The human equivalent of a backwater colony world, no military to be found, and quirky doctor who invited her to stay at his work, and possibly, even his own home. I guess he was either in shock of what was happening and allowed this before thinking it through, or he feared I would kill him if he didn’t. As I lay there, eyes closed, reveling in the first real moment of rest I have had all day, I suddenly felt the chilling sensation you get when you know someone is watching you. Not wanting to give away that I was awake, I waited a few moments before cracking an eye and taking in the human that was seated on a stool at the foot of the bed.  
Letting out a deep breath (very softly), I had my first real experience gathering what their species looked like. His most prominent features were his grey-blue eyes, I noticed those when we caught each other’s gaze earlier in the day. Next to that would be his pale blonde hair. It was amusing to see, cropped short on the sides with the top a tad longer and showing some curl. He had both a soft and strong face, with a somewhat angled jaw and small divot on his chin. His skin was a lighter color than most, with a small hint of a darker shade, what I guessed to be from the sun. I saw a few small, odd flecks of brown on his cheeks, how strange?  
He was taller, from what I could tell, by my own guess 6’3”, and had broad shoulders with large arms and a thin but strong upper body. In general, he looked somewhat imposing, but I could tell he had a thoughtful, compassionate side that showed by his choice of profession. I wonder how our two species stack up against each other? I wondered, closing my eyes again to try and fall back asleep for good this time. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, what it would be like to spend days with the humans!  
Cole POV  
I noticed subtly that her eyes had opened a crack, looking me over for a moment before closing them again. Was she sizing me up? She had to have been. Why, God I hope she’s not deciding whether or not to keep me alive. I mused for a few minutes more, until I thought she was really asleep, before leaning my head back and falling asleep myself.  
I woke several hours later, according to the small clock on the wall of the room. As soon as my mind cleared of grogginess I looked around to see if maybe it had all been a dream or figment of my imagination, that maybe it all wasn’t real, and I had thought it all up as a result of my stress. All it took to disprove that, though, was a look at the bed where I had left her the night before to find that there was, indeed, an alien sitting off the edge.  
“This really isn’t a bad hospital you have here, Cole. The room is smaller than my apartment on the Citadel, but still comfortable…” Visia commented as I gained my senses. She had made herself comfortable on the hospital bed, so I made my way to a chair closer to where she was sitting, one, so we can talk and be able to see each other, and two, it’s closer to the door in case of some sort of attack. “T-thank you…” I stammer, my mind blowing up as it truly begins to process what had happened the previous day.  
“What’s wrong? You seem nervous, doc?” She crossed her legs, the ‘spur’ on the back of one tapping against the other. “I’m not scaring you, am I?” She spread her mandibles in another grin before chuckling. “That’d be a bit odd, to be scared so soon, don’t you think? I haven’t done anything to you, and you barely know me, so why don’t you take a second to figure it all out and then we can start all over, no more ‘Big, Scary Turian’ act. Sound good?” My brow cocked as I heard her little speech, I soon nodded and rubbed my eyes, shaking my head to clear any shaky thoughts before taking a deep breath and looking back up at her. “Alright, I guess you have yourself a deal.”  
“Great. So then, Cole. Besides the obvious that you’re from Earth, where do you come from?” She asked me. I glanced away for a second, deciding what I wanted to divulge right away. She was, despite any indications to the contrary, a possibly hostile alien, and I had to be safe. But then again, I couldn’t shake the gut instinct that she was safe, so I decided on a happy medium of my ‘full’ history.  
“Well, actually I was born here, this very town. Grew up in a house not too far from here with my parents and a younger sister, loved it here. After I got my job here they moved away for my sister’s school, and they let me keep the house, so I’ve been living there since. I moved away for a little while for medical school, but came back for residency and now a job at the same ER.” I replied, my pared down history seeming to work for her as she nodded after listening. “So, Visia what about you? I know you’re from space, but where exactly?” I asked, leaning forward a bit, into the conversation. Now was my chance to finally get a glimpse into the life of another species, something I had been dying to do since I was little.  
“My past is a bit more complicated than most, I guess. I was born on my kind’s homeworld of Palaven. It’s a really rocky place, lots of solar radiation, hence my plates. But, I grew up there, with only my mother and father. I was seventeen when my parents were deployed in the military to fight against a particularly bad pirate ring. They… didn’t make it back…” Here she stopped, having to look away and close her eyes before continuing. “At that point I was beginning my training in the military, as all Turians do, when I heard the news. I tried to take it in stride, made it through basic just fine, but left as soon as my required service was done. Moved to the Citadel, which is a massive space station that holds our galactic council, and started taking some odd jobs to get by before landing this job for the Council’s exploration operation. Since I was a recon pilot for the Hierarchy, I fit the bill perfectly. You know the rest.”  
“Wow… that’s a hell of a lot to go through.” My eyes were wide, and I was honestly shocked at her history. It was amazing to see how similar her story is to some human friends that I had known over the years. “So, do you have anyone else to go back to? Any family or friends?” I asked, genuinely concerned for her.  
She heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head, “Not really. I have extended family from my clan, but I hardly talk to them. And I’ve always been too busy for friends, or anything outside work to be entirely honest.” She tilted her head back in what I took to be shame, frustration, or maybe even both.  
“Hey, don’t be so smug!” I told her, “Look at it this way, now that I’m starting to see you’re not a genocidal alien killing machine, I can offer a little advice. You’re basically doing 1000 times more than your job asked you to do by getting first-hand experience, straight from the source. Plus, since you’re stranded, it gives you time to step back and look at things from another perspective, set off in a new direction. At least, that’s what I would do…” I look away, up at the clock, at the door handle, anything to avoid some sort of backlash from my short speech (though I really doubted at this point there would be any.)  
When I looked back at her after a few moments, she too looked like she was thinking what I had said over and over in her head. Her brow plate was raised quizzically before she nodded subtly, looking back up at me. “You know, you’re right. Hell, the Council better pay me double… no triple… after what I’ve been through and the info I’ve gotten for them. And sure, I know I’ll only be here for a month, at most, so a fresh start on a new planet, however short, I’ll count my blessings from the spirits…” She chuckled.  
Visia POV  
It appears that these humans are fairly wise creatures, capable of great foresight, intelligence, and emotions. I’m sure that the members of the council would just love to hear a report from this perspective…  
Cole POV  
Oh, good, I thought I was just ranting… “Oh… well, that’s great to hear, Visia…” I smiled some to no one in particular, leaning back into the chair for a while as we both sat, contained in our thoughts before I spoke up again. “What do you say to some food? I’m starving, it’s been more than just a busy night…” I joked. She widened her mandibles in a smile before nodding, standing with me to grab some of her rations as I went back to grab more of my reliable cold pizza.

Case Notes: Tell me how you liked it! Check in next time!


	4. Revelations

Case Notes: Thanks again everyone, Fav, Follow, and keep those reviews flowing!  
End Case Notes

A cold blast of air hit my face. I was forced to squint as I tried to look on for my sought-after prize, until finally, there she was. My favorite. Half of a leftover peperoni pizza, still in the box, on the top shelf of the break room fridge. I couldn’t help but smile. Even this, day old pizza was a godsend compared to the Hospital’s cafeteria food. And even then, I was a pizza fiend. I quickly swiped up the box, flipping the door closed as I fast-walked back to Visia. I couldn’t help but want to see what kinds of food she had brought along for her mission, especially since it was based on her species unique type of amino acids.  
I finished the now familiar walk back to her bedside, dropping down into the chair while she rooted through her pack, what I could only guess as to find a good meal. She seemed to have made up her mind with a satisfied hmph as she stepped back to the bed, hopping up and hanging off the side, getting comfortable. Looking to the small box in her hands, she noticed my confused stare only to shake her head and chuckle as she pressed a small button on the front, turning a small indicator yellow. In only a few seconds, though, the box’s dimensions grew somewhat, and the light became green, before a seal gave a slight hiss and opened. Steam came in small wisps out of the sliver of a gap, and after Visia opened the lid I couldn’t help but gasp slightly in admiration at the full, dinner-sized meal she had now in her lap. I had no idea what-in-the-hell anything was, besides gleaming that she had some sort of meat, a purple vegetable, and a type of roll all neatly packed in the box.  
She lastly pulled over a small bedside table, the standard that comes in every hospital room anywhere, setting her box down next to her large cup of water I scrounged up for her earlier. “Hold the phone, that whole meal there, that was packed in the tiny box? I know soldiers have MREs but how?!” I asked, trying to wrap my mind around the seemingly five-star meal she now had. That sure put my pizza to shame.  
“What, this? This is just a standard Turian military ration pack. These are issued to every soldier on mission, and in my case as a long-term food source. It’s not bad, but if you taste Citadel food you’ll have a huge difference!” she joked. “I don’t know much on how it works, besides the fact that it has something to do with rehydration and then chemically heating it… and a bit of Turian dark magic…” She grinned at that last small statement, trying to guess my reaction.  
“Oh ha, ha. Very funny, we all know no one can really have magical powers, it’s just a myth!” I fired back, thinking I beat her to the punch this time.  
“Yeah… you’d think that… until you met a biotic.” She grinned even wider with her mandibles. Needless to say, my jaw dropped for the hundredth time that day.  
“W-what?! Biotic?!” I stammered, nearly every truth I had ever been taught being questioned over the course of only two days.  
“Yeah, biotics! They, basically due to a special element called Element Zero, are able to do things like, oh pick things up, throw things, create singularities, and… casually rip your body atom from atom like disassembling a microscopic puzzle!” She added cheerily.  
My eyes bugged out, I struggled to find words as my mouth tried to form them. Oh shit, is she a biotic?! Dear God, please don’t be. I almost nearly ran out of her room yet again at that, but I figured we were on speaking terms, and that I was safe for a while if she was one of those… biotics.  
“Ahh… Cole don’t be so worried! I’m no biotic, and even if I was I wouldn’t do anything to your atoms! We’re friends, I’d say. You saved me from my wreck, for one, so I owe you one in that regard.” She laughed at my belief that she’d toss me around with her magical powers like a human ragdoll.  
“Sure, I guess that’s fair. Let’s shake on it, just to be safe.” This time I was the one that grinned, knowing this very human gesture would go right over her head.  
“What’s ‘shake on it’? Why would you want me to shake around on anything?” She scratched her neck in confusion, trying to think what I possibly could have meant.  
“Hah, gotcha. It’s a human gesture. You take your right hand, like this,” I held out my hand towards her, “then you take the other person’s hand in a gentle, but firm grip,” I met her hand, and she cautiously wrapped her clawed hand around my own, “and finally, shake, like this…” I finished off the cheesy gesture, and she seemed satisfied, contemplating what just happened.  
That’s how it went for the next several days. We would sit and talk while I was off-duty, sharing meals and stories about each other’s background, what our cultures were like, different mannerisms and the like. I would only leave her side to make a quick trip home to change or shower and bring back more food, or of course when I was working. While I was out, she told me she would take notes on our talks, recording different things to take back to her people when she inevitably went back to her ‘Citadel’  
Over the course of the week she had been here, we had gotten to be good friends. We were nearly inseparable, never truly satisfied unless we were having one of our conversations or trading back and forth sarcasm and terrible jokes. I’d have to say that Visia became my best friend in the course of a few days, whereas other friendships, with humans, had taken years even to develop into anything meaningful.  
One day, I had just gotten off shift and made my way back into her room for another chat before I drove back home for a little while. She put down a small tablet device, she had told me at one point that it was equipped with some advanced communicator. She seemed overly excited, more than I was used to seeing after getting to know her. It was no surprise that as soon as she saw me she jumped up and ran over. “Cole, Cole, Cole I have amazing news! I heard back from the Citadel, and they told me they’re sending a corvette to pick me up! They’ll be here in just over 2 weeks from today! I’m going to get to go home! Yes!!!” She jumped quite literally for joy, her feet causing a light rumble on the floor.  
I was happy for her, I really was, but a part of me pained to hear that my best friend would be leaving. We had only just started getting to know each other, even though we spent nearly all our time together we had barely scratched the surface. I tried to be cheerful, but my sadness showed as I replied, “Visia, that’s great! I’m really happy, you’ll be home again…” I forced a smile, but she knew something was up. Her joyful smile soon turned into a sad, confused look, her mandibles drooping when she realized too what this meant. Her sadness didn’t last long though before she perked up again.  
“Hey, I could always leave you my data pad, this would be able to send messages between the two of us at least, and who knows, maybe I’ll even get to come back for a follow up mission! I am now the… leading expert on all things human.” She chuckled some, giving me a playful jab with her armor-covered elbow.  
“Alright, fair enough. It still sucks though. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy for you, but I won’t get to see you again in person for maybe even a few years… this just sucks…” I looked away, and she made her way over to me, one of her clawed hands on my shoulder before she spoke again.  
She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before telling me, “You know we still have two weeks, let’s just make the most out of it, and cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?” Damn she’s persuasive. I nod, moving over to sit in my now very familiar chair.  
A lightbulb went off in my head right as I hit the chair, and immediately my better mood came back. Visia noticed right away, but didn’t have time to ask before I told her, “Why don’t we both blow out of this old place anyway? I’m sure it’d be a lot more comfortable for you to stay at my place, and it’s really close to the hospital too if you’d ever need something while I’m at work. Better than spending your last two weeks on Earth cooped up inside this tiny room, right?”  
“Spirits, Cole, only if you’re alright with that. I’d hate to impose, really, I couldn’t do that. You’ve been nice enough already and…” I cut her off, holding up a finger with a grin.  
“Visia, it’s fine! I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure, right? The house was made for a family of four or five, so I have bedrooms to spare. Plus, I’m sure now that you won’t outright take me out in my sleep, seeing as it’s been a week…” I joked, before motioning to her bags. “C’mon, get all packed up. I’m off for the day so we can leave right now. I’m sure you don’t want to miss some of the scenery while the sun’s still up.”  
While she put her bags of gear back in order, I started setting up the room to the way it’s meant to be, putting back equipment, changing linens, wiping things down so it’s ready to use. By the time all my extra work was done, she seemed ready enough to leave. “You have everything you need?” I asked, and she looked once more around the room to be sure.  
“I’m all set!” She answered confidently, her mandibles wide with excitement. I motioned for her to follow me out, taking the path to the ambulance doors. She turned around before we left and gave a wave to my team, especially Angie, all of whom had gotten to know and like her over the past week. With that last wave, we walked out towards the staff parking lot, my small, modern sedan waiting. Little did I know was that as we walked out the door, George, the guard, was glaring at the both of us, filled with fear and hate.  
Taking my small key fob in hand, I popped the trunk, helping Visia load up her bags and dropping my work bag in with them. Pushing the large trunk closed, making sure it was locked tight, I help Visia into the small seat. It was no easy task, with her in her bulky armor, but she fit nonetheless. Once she was buckled, I jumped in the driver’s seat, the engine firing up with a satisfying whirr. What happened next was priceless. The radio jumped on as a result of the car starting, and my stereo was set to blare alternative rock, which made Visia jump with a slight hint of fear at the aggressive volume.  
“Whoops, forgot about my music… sorry…” I quickly apologized, turning the music down to a nice level before setting off into the short ten-minute drive. Hardly any words were shared as we made our way back to my house, as Visia simply took in the view from the back roads of my small town. I wondered what she would think of all the lush, green trees and bright colored flowers, having heard that her planet was lacking in colors besides drab gray and the occasional purple-blue.  
The ride was nearly done, though as I turned onto my long driveway. My modest two-story house seemingly towered over the dogwood trees that were planted many years ago when I was still very young. The flowery branches amazed Visia as I turned the car off, opening the trunk once more as we both stepped out into the warm air.  
Leaving her to muse over nature, I grabbed all of her gear and my own small bag, fumbling for my key as I walked up the path to my front porch. She followed, albeit reluctantly, as she was obviously enjoying her time out in the open air. As my door unlocked and opened, she looked inside to see the main stairwell, leading up to multiple doors, a small living area immediately left, and my office on the right. A nice kitchen could be seen in the back left, and my prized possession, a leather sectional, to the back right in the larger living room.  
She admired the size of it all, having only a small apartment in the wards of the Citadel, she had told me. After a few seconds of looking around her new home for a few weeks, she turned to me, “This place is amazing, Cole! Such beautiful scenery, and I love the house, too! As much as I want to explore a little, I should probably get some sleep…” She yawned, pretty subtly, and I laughed before nodding and leading her up the staircase.  
“So, this one’s going to be yours for as long as you’re here! Hopefully you like it, it’s the biggest guest room and has a nice bed too.” I gestured to the moderate sized bedroom, painted a blue-gray, with dark brown and silver furnishings. A full-sized bed occupied the center, and apparently it was calling her name, as she took a couple steps forward and literally fell forward onto the comfortable mattress.  
“Mhmm… I really like it… thanks, Cole” She says, catching my gaze with a warm smile before shutting her eyes. I flip off the light before setting her bags on the landing outside. Making my way over to the master bedroom, I carelessly toss my white coat on a family heirloom rocking chair in the corner before matching Visia’s move with my king size bed, dropping right into the center and falling right asleep, exhausted from a long day. I dreamt of what her homeworld looked like, and what her apartment could be as the hours ticked by until my Saturday off.


	5. Domestic Troubles

Case Notes: What’s up guys and gals! 5th Chapter already! Hard to believe. Also, this will put it over 10K words! So many milestones!  
I’m hoping that everything is looking good on your all’s side, and if so let me know with some support! Tell your friends even!  
Last thing, I have solid plans on storyline now, and a map of chapters, so I’ll be able to hold myself accountable to that and get it rocking!  
Alright everyone, enjoy Ch 5 and please Fav, Follow and Review!  
Close Case Notes

Damn… this bed is so comfortable… Sitting up slowly, rubbing the grogginess out of my eyes, I finally woke up from a very long night of sleep. I snuck a glance at my small digital clock on the nightstand, and needless to say I was shocked to see that I had slept a little over eleven hours! It was early afternoon, and I could only hope that Visia wasn’t bored out of her mind. It was her first time in a human house, after all. Sure, I showed her the basics, like turning on the T.V. that was in her hospital room, or of course the small differences in human bathrooms… but that was about it. No grand tour, no brief, just a quick decision to bring her back to my family home.  
Walking out onto the small landing, I couldn’t see my guest in her new bed, so I assumed she had made her way downstairs already. After hitting the last step and turning the corner, I could tell I was right. She was in the main living room, the flat screen on, lounging on the big couch as comfortable as can be for a turian. I noticed something off, though. It looked as if she was wearing something completely different than the armor I had seen for the majority of our time together.  
It looked almost like a human hoodie, except it was a bit thinner material, like a tee shirt of sorts. It had long sleeves that widened as they went down her arms, ever so slightly. Her bottoms were an interesting case, though. She wore shorts that reminded me of a cottony basketball short, and on her feet, wore long socks that fit her spurs with a pair of what I could only describe as slippers. All in all, the clothes that she wore were black and dark gray, but the hooded top had some pops of blue that accented her icy eyes. I walked into the room, and she looked away from her show with a smile as she saw me.  
“Well, good morning, finally! I thought you might just sleep through the whole damn day, lazy human!” She laughed at her poor joke, while I only grinned and went to sit on the opposite end of the couch from her. Having switched into some sweatpants and a tee, I was ready for a day to relax and talk with my new friend.  
“Oh, ha, ha. At least I work for my keep!” I shot back, getting a chuckle from the both of us. “So, what are you watching? Anything good so far?”  
She looked back at the screen, thoughtful for a second, and turned back with a nod, “Yeah, I got into your… Net… flicks… and I have to say there’s some decent vids on here. I particularly like the one called Grey’s Anatomy, but I’m a fan of drama so that’s probably why” She grins. Both of us settle in to watch a bit of her new favorite show. After a full episode goes by, we decide to head over to the kitchen to have a bit of a late brunch. Visia starts the cooking on another one of her packaged meals, which still amazes me, as I get cracking on some eggs and slices of ham. Both finishing our cooking and sitting down across from each other, we get to talking more about what it’s like to live in each other’s society. Mine, isolated from space and other alien races, and Visia’s, where it’s so saturated with different cultures it’s hard to keep track. At a lull in the conversation, I speak up and ask, “So, change of clothes, huh? I thought you were gonna stay in that armor you had for the whole time you were here!” I chuckle, hoping she’ll take that ok.  
“Well, you know, I could… but it gets a bit cramped and uncomfortable after a little while. But these, these are my favorite. Civvie clothes, so comfortable it’s like they’re made from the best Asari fabric after spending so long in the armor…” With a smile she rubs her talons (which she keeps covered with a pair of casual gloves) over the collar of her shirt, what I can only imagine is reveling in the fact that she’s free from her armor again.  
“Yeah they sure look comfortable! A lot like my lazy day set I have here, hah. I like the color, though. It’s nice. That dark blue really accents your eyes.” I compliment. After I said that, though, I barely noticed a hint of blue on the thinner parts of her face-plates. Is she blushing? I thought, wondering how a friendly comment could be taken badly. Oh. I see, she probably thought I was hitting on her… damn. “Sorry, didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable at all. Just meant they were really nice…” I say, a bit awkwardly after my small revelation.  
“N-no, it’s fine, I know you didn’t mean anything by it. We’re still friends” She admitted, her very slight blush fading, replaced by another warm turian smile. And so, our lives went on like this for the next two weeks. I would have to go to work, of course, for my eight hour shifts nearly every day, but while I was gone Visia would spend her time on our internet researching, watching her shows on my T.V., or exercising. She was getting more and more excited to go home, she told me, but at the same time, she admitted she would miss me when she had to leave.  
I had to admit to myself, too, that I would miss my new turian friend. Not only just the conversation and the fact that she’s an alien, but that I liked having her around. It felt like getting to meet her was some sort of fate, that we were meant to be close friends. So, as the days counted by, and she received communications that her ship would arrive any day now to pick her up, led us both into a bit of a sad state.  
One Monday (two weeks after our first weekend together) started out normally. I was leaving for my job, Visia was finishing up her breakfast. I waved goodbye with a smile as I headed outside, hopped in my car, and started on my way to the ER. I noticed on the side of the road at the end of my drive was a black sedan, dark tinting. I got an odd feeling about the car but passed it off as a fluke when I noticed the hazards on. People broke down on this service road all the time, no reason to think otherwise, so I turned on my way.  
The day at work turned out to be fairly uneventful, again, with the exception of George giving me odd looks every time I spotted him. It was almost like he was mad at me for something. Then again, he always was pretty moody, and my overall lack of excitement that day kept me from worrying as I walked out the door after my shift was up. Another boring ride home, and I pulled up my drive, hopping out of my car to go see Visia as soon as I could. I heard her unlock the door for me, stepping out into the cool evening air with her trademark smile, one which I returned until hers suddenly disappeared, replaced with a look of fear and worry.  
Confused, I turned around and saw several dark vans and cars rushing up to my house from nearly every angle. They stopped a fair distance out, and several men and women in all-black combat gear stepped out. They were armed to the teeth, with what looked like M-4 Carbines, 12 Gauge Shotguns, even the occasional scoped marksman rifle. I was dumbstruck as they simultaneously aimed towards us, their laser sights making many red dots dance around on our chests. As the two of us stood still, a single man in a two-piece suit, dark Ray-Ban style glasses, and ear piece walked forward.  
“Agent Coburn, CIA. You, Dr. Hartford and that, that thing stay right where you are. One move, and I won’t hesitate to have my men take the both of you out”

Case Notes: Ooooh cliff hanger! Suspense! What happens next chapter? The more reviews, follows, and favs this story gets the more I’m encouraged to keep the pace going on new postings, so keep it coming!  
And yes it’s a bit shorter but brace yourselves for next chapter, shit goes down!  
(Sneak Preview: Visia and Cole both get pasted by the CIA)


	6. Brave New World

Case Notes: Anyway, keep up the reviews and favorites of course, share the story with your peeps and all that too!  
Last, I have a proposition for you guys and gals! Anyone that wants to make some sweet cover art, I’ll write you guys a custom musical piece, whatever you want! (Excluding techno, can’t do that with a notation software). So, email me at Composered[at]fearthesax.com if you are interested!  
Close Case Notes

The awkward silence between the army of agents and the two friends standing on the porch was suddenly broken, as the CIA team suddenly opened fire, instantly decimating both Cole and Visia.  
The End!

Did I get you there for a second? Haha I had to fake you all out with my case note I left at the end of the last chapter! Anyway, on with the Real chapter six!

I was frozen, afraid to even blink. I couldn’t turn around to check, but I figured Visia was the same way. “B-b-but Agent C-Coburn, what’s all this about? We’re not hurting anyone by being here…”  
“You know damn well what this is about! Your hospital security guard reported that you took a potentially hostile alien into your own home, and you expect me to believe there’s nothing wrong? I should just shoot you right here and now, and I really can. In these situations, I. Am. God! How do I know that you didn’t give up potentially threatening information on our military, biology, hell even as simple as how to drive a damn car! Give me a reason not to end the both of your miserable existences right here, right now.” With his rant finished, I noticed the ops team under his command tighten their grip on their weapons, ready to fire in an instant. Coburn put his hands in his pockets, almost expecting some stupid response from me.  
How could I have known that I wouldn’t have the nerve to speak up. Instead of my own voice, I hear Visia’s two-toned one from behind me, speaking reserved but confidently. “I can promise you sir, he hasn’t told me anything I could really use against you. I only came on a mission of exploration from the governing body of the galaxy. If I wanted to do anything to hurt you all, I wouldn’t have spent nearly three weeks here doing nothing. Plus, I’ll be out of your hair any day now, a ship is coming to pick me up and take me off your planet. You won’t have to worry about me anymore, sir.” she said respectfully.  
I just stood there, shocked, while the two stared each other down, waiting for the human’s response. “I don’t give a damn about what you’re here for! You’re trespassing on my planet, and I intend to make sure you get punished accordingly. And for you, Dr. Hartford, you can expect to spend the rest of your days in federal prison, knowing that you watched your new alien girlfriend die!” The rest of his men lowered their rifles, letting their leader draw his M9 and pull it up towards Visia’s head.  
Time slowed down for me as I turned towards her. I could see her start to duck out of the way, and almost unconsciously I leapt in front of her, my chest facing the barrel of the gun as it fired, sending the bullet not into the turian’s head, but into my left shoulder, hitting the blade of my shoulder as I fell to the ground.  
It was hard to describe what I felt. I couldn’t notice any change from a few moments ago as I sat up on the dusty path to my porch. It was almost like I was in limbo, everyone’s voice seemed distant as I stared at the shocked face of Agent Coburn. After what seemed like an eternity, but most likely was only a few seconds, I could hear Visia scream out my name before rushing up to me. Turning my head, it seemed like she was in slow motion as she knelt at my side and put pressure on my shoulder. That’s when it fully hit me. I’d been shot.  
I don’t know what triggered it, maybe the feeling of blood soaking through my shirt on the shoulder as she put pressure on the wound. Maybe my adrenaline was just wearing off. Whatever the case, it hurt like hell. “Son of a Bitch!” I shouted as I looked at my shoulder in disbelief. “I just got shot! You prick!” I shouted at the man in the suit near us. “You were trying to kill her, you sick f…”  
I couldn’t finish my sentence, since everything turned into a deep rumbling followed by high-pitched whining. Ignoring the searing pain in my shoulder I crane my head up to see three… gunships… of some sort fly over my house and surround the ops team on the ground. A thin door on each flyer opens, and two dozen turian soldiers total leap out onto the grass of my large lawn. They raise their rifles and form a semi-circle around the agents, while one in slightly different armor with a blocky pistol steps up to Coburn.  
“You better not make any more moves against either my officer or that man, human. I guarantee, you will not make it out alive. I’m offering you one chance to leave us. If you do not comply, I will be forced to take the fact that you shot your own kind in the shoulder trying to kill mine as an act of war. We turians excel at war. Would you like to find out?” This turian, who I took to be the captain, stated rather defiantly as he gestured for two of his men to help Visia and myself.  
While the turian officer and Agent Coburn had their small staring contest, I could feel myself start to get woozy, while Visia asked the other troopers if they had any spare ‘Levo-based medi gel’. Whatever that was, I hoped they had it, because I wasn’t particularly fond of bleeding out on my own front walk. As I slipped deeper and deeper into unconsciousness, I saw through the spots in my vision Coburn and his troopers packing up and turning tail, as well as another turian with some sort of stretcher. I felt myself being loaded on, Visia at my side, her hand never leaving my shoulder as she smiled at me comfortingly. “It’ll be fine Cole, you’re going to get fixed up, just hold on for me…”  
With those few words of encouragement, I was taken on the gunship, and felt us start to ascend rapidly as I fully lost consciousness.  
-LB-  
The next time I awoke, I could barely see through my hazy vision. From what I could tell, I was in some sort of hospital, but no people were there. Was I dreaming up that whole thing? What happened to me? I couldn’t shake the grogginess, and I lay unable to really move until someone, no, something came into my vision. It took a moment before I realized it was Visia. So, I wasn’t dreaming… She kneels at the side of my bed, “Cole, you should still be asleep, you need to rest and heal more. You nearly died, but you’re much better now. We need to keep you sedated for a while longer, don’t worry. You’re safe…” She smiles again and nods to someone outside my view, and I feel a cold rush as I slip into unconsciousness yet again.  
-LB-  
I woke up yet again, this time though with much more clarity. I could make out that I was in a very advanced hospital, with many machines I had not seen before. The entirety of the room was stark white, and it smelled very… clean, but not the aggressive chemical smell of most hospitals. I looked around again to find my friend Visia sitting next to me, grinning when she saw me wake up. “Look who’s up, I’m glad you’re awake. You’re all better, the doc took out the bullet and was able to get you fixed up in record time. Sorry you had to be put out, helps to heal you faster.” She held out a tall glass of water for me to have, which I was very grateful for.  
Taking a long drink, I finally felt well enough to talk. “I’m glad I’m finally up, I was worried I wouldn’t make it. What hospital are we at? Somewhere downtown? This is all really high-tech gear…” I let my curiosity get the better of me, since I felt no pain at all from my shoulder.  
“Well… about that. We couldn’t risk taking you to any hospital, I figured because you’re now a wanted criminal just for keeping me with you. So, the Captain agreed, and we did the next best thing. Welcome aboard the Shadow of Menae. It’s a turian frigate, they were the ship that was ordered to take me back to the Citadel.” I was awestruck, scared, confused, any combination of emotions, and you could bet I was feeling them. I’m not on my own planet?!? I’m in SPACE! Going to the CITADEL! Holy SHIT! From the increased beeping, I could tell my heart rate had really jumped at the revelation.  
“So… s-so I’m going to the Citadel?! Oh my God…” I could hardly comprehend it. My family was left behind, my job, any friends, and now here I was probably halfway across the galaxy by now.  
“Don’t worry so much Cole, I have a nice couch you can stay on for a little while, and if you need we can always take you back, but no guarantees you won’t be arrested when you get back to Earth. Or, you could just stay with me on the Citadel if you like, become a part of the culture. They’ll accept you, no doubt about that, and I figure I owe you, since you took a bullet for me and all, so stay for as long as you need.” She suggested.  
I had to say, it was a pretty good deal. I hated my job on Earth, working at such a small-time hospital. And I lived so far off from any real friends. So why not start anew, on a station larger than most cities could ever be on Earth? And nonetheless with my best friend. “I’m in. I’d love to be able to stay… thanks.” I told her.

(AN: For full effect, turn on Spectre Induction OST, from the ME1 Soundtrack now!)

“That’s great, Cole! Now, I’ve got something to show you. I’m glad you woke up when you did, it’s going to be amazing for you… follow me!” She jumped up and went to the door. Feeling well enough, I got up and followed her out, into a long corridor, before turning into another door. This time, it was a darker metal, and as we entered she hit a panel on the close wall.  
As the panel turned green, the far wall began to slide upwards, revealing a window. We had found ourselves on an observation deck. As the widow opened more and more, a purple glow shined in, followed by the most amazing view I have ever seen. There, in all its glory, was the Citadel. The five arms of the wards, just as she had described them to me on Earth, connected to the ring with its Council tower at the center. The beautiful nebula it was seated within was like nothing I could have ever imagined. As the ship neared the docks, the two of us (mainly me) watched with wonder at the marvelous engineering and the beauty of space. Our frigate glided past hundreds of vessels of various shapes and sizes, then past the Destiny Ascension, the pride of the Citadel fleet, glowing blue in the vastness of space between the arms. Finally, we drifted through into the turian docks, the glistening stars almost welcoming our arrival, as I felt a slight shudder when the ship finally moored itself to the station.  
I could hardly contain my excitement as the ramp connected to the ship’s airlock. As Visia and I stood by, the lock turned green, the door opening, welcoming me to my new life.

Case Notes: Holy crap that chapter felt so natural to write… so awesome! What did you guys think of the musical idea I put in towards the end? Anyway, rate and review please, and remember to contact me if interested in the Cover Art for Music deal!


	7. Adjusting

My offer still stands for free music as a trade for cover art! Also, if you would like to feature a OC in this story, please PM me with as many details as possible!  
Close Case Notes

The doors to the docks parted with a slight hiss. At first the brightness of the lights, relative to the dark airlock, kept me from seeing anything. When I found my eyes finally adjusting to the change, I found myself in a long passageway, tall glass windows to my left, looking out upon massive structures I thought looked like some of the modern skyscraper designs I had seen around Earth. I could make out strange symbols on the walls and windows, and on holographic screens similar to Visia’s Omni-Tool. What I didn’t expect was the massive number of different races present at the docks.  
Of course, I recognized several Turians among the bunch, different clan markings of all shapes and colors. I spotted multiple blue and purple women, who from the small descriptions Visia gave, I assumed to be Asari. I was awestruck when she had told me that this race lived a whole millennium! My eyes wandered over to an odd-looking group of amphibian creatures with curled ‘horns’. Salarians… they seemed from what Visia told me to be the more slippery of all the races, pun intended.  
I stepped slowly through the threshold of the airlock, my first step on the massive station that apparently housed millions of the galaxy’s citizens. It was not long until I noticed many sideways glances in my direction from these different aliens, however, and before long a few were downright panicking. Visia and I stopped in our tracks, and it seemed she was about to say something when a group of five Turian men in bright blue armor jogged up to us, forming a perimeter with their long rifles up and ready to fire. They squawked to Visia in their native language, her own translator being the only one able to convert to my native English. I threw my hands up defensively, didn’t want to be shot yet again on the other side of the galaxy!  
“No! Don’t take him into custody, he’s under my care, and by principle the Council’s! If you so much as attempt to hurt either of us, I’ll put in a word with the Councilors to have you shipped down to the wards, so you can handle the Vorcha!” Visia snapped back, leaving two of the seemingly younger presumed ‘officers’ slack-jawed at her tenacity under pressure.  
It was another tense minute before finally, to much relief, the Turians lowered their weapons and stepped away. I had to admire her bad-assery, I myself wouldn’t want to cross paths with this particular woman if I was going to piss her off.  
“Well, Cole… now that you’ve been warmly welcomed to the Citadel, we should go and get you an Omni-Tool with a translation program. I can’t speak for you forever, you know…” She joked, elbowing me before lightly pulling me along the corridor and to the right, through what seemed to be a checkpoint. “That was docking bay D24, from here it’s not too far from some of the shops where you can get your new tech.”  
“Alright… I’ll follow you… but what’s stopping those police from nearly shooting me another time today?” I asked, genuinely worried I wouldn’t survive twenty-four hours.  
“You’ll be fine! They had to update their files that you’re technically my charge for the time being, until you get registered and speak with the Council” She smirked, getting onto the elevator after me and pressing another unfamiliar symbol before I felt a small lurch and we were moving upwards.  
The elevator ride seemed unnaturally long for a futuristic space-faring society, but it gave me time to cool off before we stepped off on a level Visia called the Presidium. This time the crowds were even larger, in what seemed to be elegant clothing or military uniforms no matter where I looked. It seemed that time nearly stopped as the two of us walked off towards the closest tech store. Everyone was staring, muttering things in their native tongues inevitably about me. I didn’t blame them, I was a new species they’ve never seen before, but still, it was pretty jarring to be the center of attention for so many people.  
I was lucky to be free of their lingering gazes when we made our way through the small doorway of a store, seemingly owned by a Salarian opposite us at the counter. Visia spoke first, “Hi again, Netan! I need an omni-tool for my friend here. Mid-level, a very good translator program as well. Audio and text.”  
His reply came as incredibly fast paced, fluid syllables that I made no sense out of, but apparently were funny as they made my Turian friend laugh wholeheartedly. The Salarian grinned before disappearing under the desk, reemerging seconds later with a silver bracelet. He gestured to me to hold out my arm, palm up.  
I was hesitant, but a nudge from Visia and I did as I was asked. I felt the cool band around my wrist as it clicked into place, secure on its new owner. I turned over my arm and admired it, the small orange-glowing orb on the front face and the sleek design. “Here, just flick your hand like this…” Visia demonstrated, her hand moving quickly to the side.  
Again, following her direction, I mimicked her movement, and a familiar orange glow similar to her own tool hovered over my forearm. I heard a chirp as she took a holographic symbol and somehow sent it to mine, before lines of what looked like coding flashed up my arm. In a few seconds, it calmed, and she told me, “Try talking again, I just updated your translator.”  
Nodding, I looked too the Salarian shopkeeper. “Can you understand me at all?”  
His smile widened, before his hands shot up. “Ah! Yes! First Salarian to speak with new alien species! Greetings! I am Netan, owner of Omni Emporium! Must say, excited to have such a prestigious new customer.”  
It seems his fast speech translates well, as I could barely keep up. “Um… thank you?” I say, still thrown off by the whole ordeal.  
“Thanks, Netan. You know I’ll be back, but for now we have some other business to get to.” Visia picked up for me as we turned to leave, inevitably off to some other store to try and get me adjusted to the station.  
“Yes, anytime! Good long-time customer, appreciate your business. Good day!” His words trailed after us as we walked back onto the main area of the Presidium.  
Having taken care of my toughest need, I finally was able to see just how beautiful this area of the station was. There were trees and gardens of new varieties I had never seen before, huge fountains in large pools of water, elegant bridges and buildings lining the walkways. We headed off down our path, passing plenty of aliens still thrown off by my appearance, with the exception of two massive brutes that I took to be Krogan. I made out what they were saying as we passed.  
“There have to be fish in those ponds!” I heard one argue to his companion, before we were out of earshot again.  
I was happy to be able to read signs and projectors, thanks to the text function of my tool. One building we were headed towards was marked with the translated words, C-Sec, and as we walked up the ramp and through the entrance, I could tell this was some sort of police station. Maybe Visia was really on their side, out to turn me in to be experimented on. I quickly dismissed that, though, as we made our way to a desk and greeted one ‘Captain Ba’ilee’. Apparently Visia knew this Asari just as well as the shopkeeper from before.  
“Greetings Faana, it’s good to see you again!” Visia exclaimed. “I have a favor to ask, though, for an old friend. I need you to help register my guest in the Citadel databases as a Citizen. He’s going to be here for a while to advise me.” She clapped my shoulder while talking to the woman.  
“It might be tough, but I can do it. What’s your name, newcomer?” The Asari asked plainly, pulling up some sort of form on her ‘computer’.  
“I’m Doctor Cole Hartford. What else do you need? I’ll try my best to give you the answers.” I chuckled, noticing the woman’s all around bored, no b.s. attitude.  
“Well… besides what species you are, I need a sample of your DNA and some of your basic identifying information. Put your hand on this.” She gestured to a glass tablet embedded in her desk. Reaching out and spreading my hand over it, I felt a small prick on my finger as a light passed along my palm and fingers. It looked almost like a copier, and I could only guess it was taking my handprint or something similar. I sat with Visia at that desk for a good twenty minutes, giving the Captain basic info like height, eye color, and the like, which I could only assume was being converted into a usable language on her end. Finally, after a constant barrage of useless DMV questions, we were finished, and my new Omni-Tool pinged again with an update.  
“I just set up your public profile. You’re now officially registered as a resident on the Citadel, so you shouldn’t get any more trouble from our officers. Your name and information are also tied to your tool, if you ever need it. Only thing left if you so choose is to set up an account with a bank, so you can get paid doing whatever it is you want to do. That it, Visia?” The Asari looked tired of dealing with us, jumping through the hoops of registering a member of a new species.  
“That’s it, Captain. I appreciate it, you just made our lives so much easier!” Visia told her, tapping my shoulder as she stood, gesturing for us to walk back out into the bright cityscape that is the Presidium. All I hear as a response from the officer is a short grunt as we leave the station behind.  
“Damn, Visia, if I would’ve known you were going to torture me all day I would’ve stayed back on Earth!” I shot at her jokingly.  
She laughed, “Sure… you would have loved having your best friend, the CIA, keep you company I bet!” She grinned, her mandibles flaring.  
“Point taken… So, where’s a good place to eat around here? I assume that there’s not anywhere to get a good peperoni pizza, so I’ll have to settle for some other species’ food…” I was genuinely worried that I was going to have to eat some crazy things here… forefront in my mind the fear of eating any sort of bug.  
“Well you could always have Salarian cuisine, they have really wonderful -or so I hear- roasted beetles from their homeworld.” I couldn’t tell if she was being serious, and my heart dropped. I think I even went a little pale from her look of concern she gave me.  
“I’m joking! I’m joking, I lived with you for a while, I know you don’t eat bugs! I’m not a tyrant. We’ll get you some Asari food. They look the most similar to you, so might as well give that a try.” She rested her arm on my shoulder, “What do you say, buddy? Want to try your first alien dish?” She chuckled.  
“Yeah… let’s get this over with…” I fake a smile as we walk off to the closest restaurant that serves her dextro and Asari types of food. It looked busy as we walked in, asking the host for a table for the two of us. After the male Turian got over his shock at the sight of me, he led us to our tables. For drinks Visia recommended Asari Wine. It was apparently very popular. She ordered her own, bright orange drink and our waitress soon returned with both. I was surprised at how strong this so-called ‘wine’ really was. I told myself to take it easy otherwise I’d have to get carried out.  
After a couple minutes of idle small talk, the server came back and took our orders. Visia again did the ordering, picking out Ke’ah with a Thessian fish for me (which she explained, and I took to be something similar to a seafood pasta), and a plate of Macedyn Fried Louza for her (akin to a fried chicken).  
All-in-all, I enjoyed my food. It was in a way very similar to that of Earth, but at the same time had a sweeter overall taste that’s hard to describe. I finished all of my plate, and after my two glasses of the Asari drink I had to admit I was a bit buzzed. Luckily, we weren’t slated to see the Council until the following morning.  
“Ready to go, Cole? My apartment shouldn’t be too messy, I cleaned it before my mission and the couch is plenty big.” She smiles after graciously paying for the meal.  
“Mhmm… I’m very… tired.” I say, perhaps a little bit more than just buzzed. Damn my metabolism.  
She only laughed as we stood, her hand taking my arm gently and guiding me out into the night-cycle of the Citadel. A short (albeit nerve wracking for me) ride in a skycar to her apartment, and I was home for the next while, until I found a steady job or something to get me a place of my own. As my Turian roommate guided me to the couch and helped lay a blanket over me, I thought how strikingly similar this was to me taking in Visia not even a month before. With that thought, I drifted off to a deep sleep.  
Visia smiled after I closed my eyes, herself pretty tired after the long day. Unknown to me, though, she laid her hand gently on my forehead with a smile before making the short walk to her own room, settling in for a good night’s rest.

Case Notes:  
Well, what do you think?? And please god tell me at least a few of you caught the subtle jokes and ME game references in there. As always, review and follow/fav, and please consider being my savior and making cover art for my nice little story! Peace.


End file.
